SPRING ISSUE APRIL 6, 2017

SFUSD Asian Exclusion Repeal On January 24, 2017, the SFUSD Board of Education unanimously passed an amendment to repeal the 1906 Asian Exclusion resolution. The school board agreed to work with TACT as a partner in building inclusion. (continued on next page)

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SCHOLARSHIP DINNER

4/28 FAR EAST CAFE

ANGEL ISLAND IMMIGRANT VOICES 5/7 MAIN LIBRARY

A LETTER FROM LISA YU

CLASS OF 2016

SFUSD ASIAN EXCLUSION REPEAL

SCHOOL BOARD

TRIBUTE TO PHIL CHOY

4/23 TREASURE ISL.

ASPIRING ADMINISTRATORS

AND A RETIRING ONE

TACT BIOGRAPHIES COMING SOON

AND BOOKS FOR MAY

SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED TO 16 HIGH

SCHOOL SENIORS

NBC News: goo.gl/zEfvta

Chronicle: goo.gl/WUPkFv

Watch: goo.gl/9Et7kf

SPRING ISSUE APRIL 6, 2017

(continued from previous page)

As a result of the new resolution, SFUSD will foster inclusion by

• having a mural painted at a school site, reflecting the historic court case, Tape v. Hurley, which established the right of Chinese children to attend public schools in 1885,

• increasing the number of Asian American themed books on the district's recommended reading list for teachers and school libraries, with reporting requirements each year for the next five years during Asian Pacific Islander American Heritage month (May), and

• working with community groups such as TACT to increase awareness of Asian American history and community concerns through professional development.

Special thanks to all who joined us that night, including these pictured:

• First row, left to right: Irene Dea Collier, Jennie Horn, Carol Fong, Dr. Emily Murase, Laureen Chew, Rosalyn Tonai

• Second row: Liana Koehler, Janet Tse, Darlene Lim, Ivy Ng, Mimi Kasner, Margaret Chiu, Liana Szeto, Lorraine Dong

• Third row: Lotus Yee Fong, Victor Ho, Gloria Choy, Josephine Ho, May Choi, Lonnie Chin, Yuyang Zhong, Lauren Marshman, Grace Morizawa, Ken Maley

• Fourth row, back right: John Kuang, Marlon Hom • Speakers who were unable to stay for the photo: Cynthia Cen, TACT

Executive Board and Greg Marutani, Japanese American Citizens League, San Francisco Chapter.

Scholarship Dinner 2017 Come join us as we celebrate another group of amazing young people as they finish their high school careers and head off to college. As a result of generous donations and the proceeds from last year’s dinner, we will be awarding 16 scholarships this year. (See next page)

Spend an evening dining with friends and colleagues, and possibly leave with hotel raffle prizes to destinations, such as Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, and Hawaii!

•Location: Far East Cafe, 631 Grant Avenue

•Date: Friday, April 28, 2017 (Check-in at 5:30 pm, Dinner from 6:00-8:30 pm)

•Cost: $50 pre-sale / $55 at the door

•RSVP: Mary Li, maryluhuali@gmail.com, 415-816-1292

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Moments from SFUSD Asian

Exclusion Repeal

Left: TACT President, Josephine Ho, advocates for repeal.

Right: Yuyang Zhong shares a student’s perspective.

Bottom: The Board of Education debates.

SPRING ISSUE APRIL 6, 2017

TACT Scholarships 2017

Scholarship Recipient High School

Middle School Career Goal

Leung-Wu Family Scholarship Sur ChingHuang Chen Mission Outside the

U.S.Linguistics

Computer Science

The TACT Leadership Scholarship Yuyang Zhong Galileo China Government

Politics

Choi Family Scholarship Haiying Ada Ma Burton Aptos Nursing

Robert Louie Memorial Scholarship Jessica Eng Lowell Presidio Education, Politician

Education Non-Profit

Yee Family Memorial Scholarship Keyan Wen Washington Qiao Cheng

(China) Psychiatrist

George Lai Honorary Scholarship Daniel Chan Lowell St. Thomas the

Apostle School Physician

The Rotary Club of San Francisco Chinatown Joyce Li Galileo Francisco Child Psychologist

Friends of TACT Scholarship Vivian Lee Lowell Hoover Computer Engineer

telCade #1 Huiting Lei Marshall Pei Ying (China)

Filmmaker, AccountantMusic Composer

telCade #2 Qiqi Lei Lincoln Xin Ning (China) Business

telCade #3 Sammi Mei Galileo Marina Undecided

Austin & Vanita Louie Scholarship Erica Chan Lowell Cornerstone

Academy Healthcare

Sit Family Scholarship Yuki Lam Ao Burton Denman Pharmacist

Tom Heath Honorary Scholarship

Jingwen (Barry) Tan Galileo Hua Fu

(China)Musician

Social Worker

Nick Bartel Honorary Scholarship Huiyin Lei Marshall Pei Ying

(China)Music Composer

Accountant

SFABE/TACT Scholarship Kali Tagomori-Lai Lincoln Aptos Educator

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American? Angel Island Immigrant Voices The San Francisco Main Public Library in association with the Asian American Studies Department at San Francisco State University, The Association of Chinese Teachers (TACT), the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation, and the Square and Circle Club present:

• Event: American? Angel Island Immigrant Voices

• Location: San Francisco Main Public Library, 100 Larkin St. (at Grove), Latino/Hispanic Community Meeting Room, Lower Level

• Date: Sunday, May 7, 2017, 12-3 pm

• Cost: Free

• Web: sfpl.org/index.php?pg=1025216901

• In celebration of Asian Pacific Islander American Heritage Month: Games and craft activities for all ages; display of Angel Island family histories, books, articles, and photos. First 50 children ages 12 and under get a goody bag.

A Letter from Lisa Yu Lisa Yu graduated from Galileo High School in 2016 and TACT awarded her the telCade Scholarship. Here’s an update from Lisa:

Dear TACT,

Thank you for supporting me in the opportunity to pursue higher education. I am currently a freshman at the University of San Francisco studying politics. The first year of my college life is coming to an end and the beginning of my second

year will be starting shortly. Throughout my first year, I had a tough time adjusting to college life, but it was easier for me, compared to other students who went farther away from home, because I still live with my family.

Thanks to the scholarship, I was able to continue to stay active in my community while balancing school work. I am currently District 3’s Youth Commissioner appointed by Supervisor Aaron Peskin, serving as the outreach officer on the executive committee. I am also a member of the Housing, Recreation, and Transit subcommittee. As a Youth Commissioner, I am able to learn a lot about local laws. I am able to be involved with policies that affect and address the unmet needs of the youth population, while being able to advise and make recommendations to the Mayor’s office and Board of Supervisors. Taking one step at a time, I hope to be able to achieve my dream to become a community lawyer.

To the class of 2017, do not get caught up with what you do not have, because college acceptances do not describe who you are or your worth. Continue to work hard and strive towards your dreams and goals. Work hard, play hard! Don’t just stare at books and papers, you have to enjoy your college life too! Good luck!

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Tribute to Phil Choy by Irene Dea Collier Philip P. Choy (1926-2017) was a respected architect by trade, but his real-life passion was history. Many TACT members packed his Chinese in America history classes at San Francisco State, the first in the nation in 1969. We sat on the floor and on top of tables, and leaned against doors to listen to his lectures about the foreign miner’s taxes, the ginseng imbalance of trade, the hardships faced by the railroad builders, the levee makers, and the farm workers. What were only our parents’ bitter whispers about the “wooden buildings” of Angel Island was suddenly exposed and candidly discussed in the open. Phil sent us to the library to pore over microfiche to search for fragments of news about Chinese people in the daily papers. In the process, he helped us develop a reverence for research, history, and for our own parents’ struggles.

Throughout the years, he had always supported TACT in our many attempts to develop curriculum that reflected that history. He was the advisor to TACT’s publication Chinese Americans Past and Present in 1977 and to the high school history filmstrips Forgotten Pioneers and Challenge to the

American Dream in 1978. In 2007, he led us on an architect’s tour of Chinatown, debunking stereotypes about its “exotic” buildings. On a TACT history bus ride, he talked about the Delta towns of Isleton, Courtland, and Locke as we rolled past its fertile fields created by Chinese labor. At the Sacramento Railroad Museum, if you see any tributes to the work of Chinese people, thank Phil. It was he who insisted on having a commemorative plaque and spurred the creation of a life size diorama of Chinese workers passing explosives to carve out the granite face of the Sierra Nevadas for the Transcontinental Railroad. When he protested the exclusion of Chinese in the centennial celebration of the Transcontinental Railroad in Utah, this gentle, soft-spoken man was branded a “raving radical.”

Whenever TACT needed advice, Phil gave freely of his time and expertise with a sense of humor and when we needed it, some blunt honesty. He was truly a role model for those of us who have become cynical or discouraged about the slow turning wheels of justice. He remained optimistic to the end, and according to his family, passed peacefully with a smile on his face on March 16, 2017. Thank you, Phil, from The Association of Chinese Teachers; it was truly an honor to have known you.

Here is a link for your perusal: Carl Nolte: “Philip Choy, SF expert on Chinese American experience, dies.” San Francisco Chronicle, March 18, 2017. goo.gl/GZMdJv

A memorial service for Philip Choy will be held Sunday April 23, 2017 at 1:00 pm on Treasure Island at the site of the 1939 Golden Gate International Exhibition (1 Avenue of the Palms). chsa.org/2017/03/tributes-to-philip-choy-1926-2017

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TACT Biographies Are Coming Soon Diversity in Children’s Books has received a lot of press this year. It is not an issue to be dismissed lightly. On the California State Recommended Reading list, there are only nine titles that are about Asian Pacific Islander Americans out of 333. On San Francisco Unified School District’s K-5 list, there are only nine out of 995 titles. On the K-8 Classroom Libraries Reading List curated by Columbia University’s Lucy Calkins, there are 13 titles out of 387.

In the past several years, the San Francisco Public Library’s Asian Pacific Heritage Month offered mostly cultural demonstrations like brush painting, taiko drumming, and paper folding. A quick tour of branches located in neighborhoods with high Asian American populations yielded no displays of histories or biographies.

TACT’s Curriculum Page will soon be offering a few biographies for teachers to use in the area of sports and notable women. TACT’s 2010 publication of 20 biographies, Crossing Boundaries, can now be downloaded from our website. A San Francisco Map of the Stars will be coming next year that show streets, buildings, and public spaces named for Asian Americans.

If teachers would like to use some books for Asian Pacific Heritage month (May) this year, check your elementary school library for the biographies and historical fiction listed on the right. More book titles can be found on the TACT website, curriculum link:

www.tactsf.org/curriculum.html

Biographies and Historical Fiction for Asian Pacific Heritage month

Drum Dream Girl. Margarita Engle and Rafael Lopez. Cuban Chinese girl dares to play drums in public

Sky High: The True Story of Maggie Gee. Marissa Moss. WW II pilot

Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story. Paula Yoo and Dom Lee. Korean boy dives

when pools were segregated and eventually wins Olympic Gold Medal in 1948

The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung: A Chinese Miner. Laurence Yep. Set in 1852

Coolies. Yin and Chris Soentpiet. Challenges in building the Transcontinental Railroad

Brothers. Yin and Chris Soentpiet. Chinese boy establishes a store with the help of an Irish boy in the

1870s

Surfer of the Century: The Life of Duke Kahanamoku. Ellie Crowe. The legendary surfer

Women Trailblazers

Shining Star: The Anna May Wong Story. Paula Yoo. Biography of 1930s actress who succeeded when few

Asians were hired

Astronaut Kalpana Chawla: Reaching for the Stars. Ai-Ling Louie.

Music for Alice. Allen Say. Story of Alice Etsuko Sumida who founded the largest gladiolus bulb farm

The Last Princess: The Story of Princess Ka’iulani of Hawai’i. Stanley Fay.

The Arts

Yo-Yo and Yeou-Cheng Ma: Finding Their Way. Ai-Ling Louie. Biography of famous brother/sister

musician and physician

The East-West House: Noguchi’s Childhood in Japan. Christy Hale. Japanese/American biracial boy

deals with isolation, grows up to be famous sculptor and artist, also for older readers

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Be sure to Like us on Facebook! It’s the fastest way to keep up-

to-date with TACT: facebook.com/tactsf

As always check out our website at tactsf.org. You’ll be

able to find resources, learn our history, donate, and join TACT!

TACT is a 100% volunteer non-profit organization. Please support us and donate at

tactsf.org. Just click Donate!

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Founded in the midst of the 1960's civil rights struggle, The Association of Chinese Teachers (TACT) is a professional organization of dedicated educators actively striving for educational excellence and equity for all students through:

• Advocacy and Outreach • Professional Development • Parent Involvement • Community Collaboration and Involvement • Participation in Educational Policy Making

Over the years, TACT has been instrumental in shaping policy in the areas of affirmative action, bilingual education, cross-cultural curriculum, and teachers' issues. As a community organization, TACT seeks to define the rightful place of Chinese students and teachers in the classrooms of America.

Aspiring Admins The Aspiring Administrator series will help you explore career pathways within SFUSD, prepare for site-based and central office interviews, and learn best practices from new and veteran administrators. This will also be a great opportunity to connect with current district leaders and other educators who are exploring leadership roles in SFUSD. Workshop topics include:

•Pathway to Leadership •New Administrator Panel •Mock Interviews •Entry Plan as a New Admin

The last workshop for the year was in March, but contact AdminRecruitment@sfusd.edu to get notified of future events.

Darlene Retires On Friday, November 18, 2016, Darlene Lim celebrated her retirement with family, friends, and co-workers at Lake Merced’s Harding Park Restaurant.

Darlene began her career in teaching in Oakland prior to San Francisco at the former Commodore Stockton Elementary School, now called Gordon J. Lau Elementary. She continued her career with an internship at Lakeshore Elementary School and went on to becoming principal at Yick Wo Elementary School.

Her final commitment to education as a successful and effective administrator was the challenging job of director of the Education Placement Center with the San Francisco Unified School District.

Throughout her career in the district, Darlene was and continues to be an active supporter of The Association of Chinese Teachers (TACT) and Asian American Administrators Association (AAAA). TACT showed their appreciation by presenting her with a scroll congratulating and acknowledging her achievements for her years of service to the children and educators of San Francisco. We thank her for her years of service and wish her well as she enters the next chapter of her life.